What a Way to Start the Day!!

Happy Tuesday All.....

It is indeed a happy day for me today as I get to share a bit

of news that I am super super excited about!

I received a fabulous email from Liz Qualman over at

Little Yellow Bicycle inviting me to be a member of the

Swoon Cycling Team!!!

I could not be more thrilled as LYB has become one of

my very favorite companies to play with.

As one who typically does not do layouts, I appreciate that

LYB recognizes the work of card-makers out there and appreciates

what we can bring to the table...or should I say, road??!!.  

Card-makers appreciate all the fun patterned papers

and groovy embellishments too!

This collection is so elegant and I can't wait to get started!

I am really blessed and truly honored!

Thanks LYB!!!

Celebrate Life...

Happy Monday!

Hope you had a great weekend and are ready for a creative week.

Today is one of my favorite days...

If you've stopped by directly from 

Judith's blog, Jay Gee's Nook

then you are in just the right place to continue with the hop.

If not, make sure you stop back at the

EAD Designs Blog

because there is a terrific prize for one lucky blog hopper!!

What I love about EAD Stickerz, beside the fact that they are repositionable...

and oh, the price...and of course the variety....

is that sometimes they can be used as the 

focal point of a card and other times,

they are the accent...I feel like this card shows both!

I created another woven flower using the new Cantaloupe baker's twine

from The Twinery and centered it with a beautiful and 'trendy'

bottle cap with a simple verse from EAD's 'Random Words'.

Those bright colors remindede me so much of Spring getting ready

to bloom here in Northern Illinois.

Behind it all is the Retro Flower Vine EF from Sizzix

showcasing the sentiment from EAD's 'Pocketful of Sunshine'.

Here are the sets I used....

Pocketful of Sunshine

Random Words

OH!  Here is one more thing I love about EAD...

Now it's time to move on so you can visit the other

talented ladies on this hop!

Your next stop is my sweet teammate

Lauren of Lauren's Creative

Please leave a comment and enjoy the rest of your day!!

Project Recipe: 

Cardstock: Bazzill
Embellishments: Stickerz in Random Words
and Pocketful of Sunshine by EAD Designs
Cantaloupe baker's twine from The Twinery,
bottlecap from Spare Parts
Inks:  Latte by A Muse Studio
Memento Bamboo Leaves & New Sprout by Tsukineko

Tools: Retro Flower Vine EF by Sizzix, Big Shot

It's Paradise....

Happy Saturday!

I don't post a whole lot on the weekends, but I created a couple of

cards this past week that I am excited to share 

and

I have a terrific deal waitin' at the end of this post!

This past Monday, Paul and I took a little daytrip and of course, I landed

at an Archivers. {it's also our excuse to do a little shopping at Trader Joes!}

I had been looking forward to picking up some of the new collections from

Little Yellow Bicycle and today, I share with you a couple of cards from

the Paradise Collection.

I just love the bold colors of the papers and the richness it brings out on

each of the embellishments.  Of course, one of my favorite things they

make are the Clear Cut Acetate embellishments which is what this

lovely large flower is.

They are really on trend as I see a version of this flower everywhere

in rubber stamping right now.

For those of us old enough, don't those birds remind you of 

The Partridge Family??!!

I used some Pink Sorbet and Honeydew baker's twine from The Twinery for

just the right accent.  I like short cut knots lately and this has a few.

A bit of a color shift but still using the Paradise Collection.

I love the focal point of this card.  That tree is so beautiful.

What I love about our baker's twine at The Twinery is that the 4-ply

strands are nicely woven so they bring saturated color, but on both of

these projects, I really wanted to fray them for effect.

I would love to be that little bird in a forest like this.

Reminds me of the show 'Once Upon a Time'. 

Are you watching this season?

Anyway...I used my Martha Tree Branch Border for the edges and combined

the brand new Flax baker's twine & Cappuccino 

baker's twine from The Twinery.

I purchased a few pieces of LYB's Saturdays Collection and 

am hoping to have a little play with that later today.

Before you go....I wanted to make sure you didn't miss out

on the new online crafting club called

It's totally FREE to sign up and once you do,

you can take advantage of member-only discounts.

Look what I found on there this week:

Reg. $26...Blitsy price  $11.95

Reg. $4.50...Blitsy price $2.99

Reg. $7.50...Blitsy price $2.99

I'm tellin' ya, it's worth signing up JUST TO SEE

what is coming up on sale...of course, the deals are terrific as well!

Of course, I get $1 for sending you there (only thru 2/27)

I would so much appreciate it if you would go sign up....

Please click this direct link here:

http://blitsy.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/18782/ 

 Thanks ever so much for stopping by on the weekend.

I know there is a lot going on for everyone and if you'll leave a quick

note to say hello, I'll come find you to say hi back : )

Each DayProject Recipe: 

Patterned Paper: Pleasant Plaid & Happy Dots from Paradise by LYB

Embellishments: Pink Sorbet & Honeydew Baker's Twine by The Twinery

Tear Out Tickets, Cardstock Stickers & Clear Cuts 
all from Paradise by LYB

Be You Project Recipe: 

Patterned Paper: Paradise & Happy Dots from Paradise by LYB

Embellishments: Flax & Cappuccino Baker's Twine by The Twinery

Cardstock Stickers from Paradise by LYB
Tools: Tree Branch Border Punch by Martha Stewart

To my Favorite 'Pursen'

For the Jingle Belles Challenge
sponsored by EAD Designs
Click HERE

It's that time again...Clean and Simple with

What a FUN challenge...create something Clean and Simple

and....'pun-ny'

This week, our design team were given great sets from our sponsors

Skipping Stones Designs.

They know how to keep the puns going....

Anything with a handbag will get my attention.

I did a little paper-piecing for this challenge using new papers

from Lilybee Designs.

The stamp set is called 'Birthday Purses'.

I hope you will play along with us this week.  It's such a fun idea

but remember....keep it Clean and Simple!

See you there!

Project Recipe: 

Patterned Paper: Picket Fence by Lilybee Design
Stamps:  Birthday Purses by Skipping Stone Design

Embellishments: Honeydew Baker's Twine by The Twinery

Tools: Lacey Circles & Standard Circle by Spellbinders, Big Shot

Rockin' Around....

Nope!  You are not seeing things!

This is indeed a Christmas card!

The designers of EAD are playing along with the designers of the...

as EAD Designs is sponsoring Jingle Belles

The mission of the challenge is to create something for Christmas

all through the year and this week's challenge is called

'Stuck on You'

I pulled out my 'Deck the Halls' Stickerz and put a little Stickles

glitter glue in Stardust just to bling it a bit.

I laced my Spellbinders Lacey Circle with Honeydew baker's twine

from The Twinery and put it all on top of a panel embossed with

the Santa Bingo EF from Sizzix.  The beautiful gingham cardstocks are

from A Muse Studio ( and you can visit my web store here for all things A Muse )

It's never too early to think about Christmas cards, 

so I hope you will take the challenge.

There's all kinds of fabulous inspiration from the designers over on the

Jingle Belles Blog.

Visit EAD for fabulous designs for the holidays

Have a great time!

Project Recipe: 

Patterned Cardstock: Gingham by A Muse Studio

Embellishments: Deck the Halls Stickers by EAD Designs
Honeydew baker's twine from The Twinery,
Stardust Stickles from Ranger 

Tools: Lacey Circles & Standard Circle by Spellbinders, 

Santa Bingo EF by Sizzix, Big Shot

Just for Fun

Hello!

I'm afraid the nasty bug that has been making it's way around

the country has landed smack-dab in Northern Illinois,

so I am coming to you from the comfort of my new bed.

{more below}

I have my laptop, calendar, DT submissions,

the current paper crafting magazines, the TV clicker

and a hot cup of tea...I reckon I am going to get a lot done

without the distractions of all the paper & embellishments in

the creative nook.

I actually created these cards a couple weeks ago, but I've not had any blog space to share them ..... LOL

When Paper Smooches offered this sweet tree set called 'Gently Seasoned',

I knew I had to have it.  I used a variety of my FAVORITE inks from

A Muse Studio in Latte, Shell & Slate

The sentiment is from The Paper Company.

I am loving using my Lacey Circle die from Spellbinders and thought it would be fun to stack them for this card.

I have been holding on to this paper from Cosmo Cricket because I absolutely love it.

This card is pretty self-explanatory.

I mentioned my comfy bed a moment ago.

If you follow me on Facebook, you know a few weeks ago

Paul and I went on a search for a new bed and mattress.

We've had the same bed for the past 20+ years, as it is a family

heirloom having been in our family for over 75 years.

But it was only a full size and we felt that it was time to give ourselves

just a little more room.

It's a cherry wood Sleigh bed and we really do love it.

We went on a 4-hour search for the bed clothes and settled on this beautiful

set from Martha Stewart for Macy's.

The new mattress is fab and is the perfect place for me to get work done

while I'm feeling under the weather.

Thanks for stopping by today...and for indulging little personal notes.

I miss just sharing little bits of life with you, so I am going to try and

slip in the occasional post with just fun things I've created.

I'll be back at midnight EST with a new challenge from

CAS-ual Fridays.

God Promises Project Recipe: 

Cardstock: Bazzill
Stamps: Gently Seasoned by Paper Smooches,
Faith Greetings by The Paper Company
Ink: Latte, Shell, Slate by A Muse Studio
Mushroom Adirondack by Ranger 

Embellishments: pearls by Recollections
Seam Binding from Hug Snug

Tools: Lacey Circles & Standard Circle by Spellbinders, Big Shot

 

Hope Project Recipe: 

Cardstock: Bazzill

Patterned Paper: Apron Strings by Cosmo Cricket
Stamps: Faith Greetings by The Paper Company
Ink: Mushroom Adirondack by Ranger 

Embellishments: pearls by Recollections
ribbon from Michaels

Tools: Lacey Circles from Spellbinders, Big Shot

Precious ...

I'm on a baby card kick lately.

I think it's these adorable Stickerz from EAD Designs

that inspire me.

Today I bring two additional inspirations for my card as well.

First....

This beautiful color story from 

The Play Date Cafe.

The additional inspiration comes from a former teammate from the UK,

Debby Hughes over at Lime Doodle.

I totally cased a card she did this past week because I LoVe her style!

{you can find her original design here}

I used the 'Baby Safari' Stickerz from EAD, a few of my dies from

Spellbinders and just did a little layerin'!

I pulled papers from my 6x6 pads by Jillibean Soup & Cosmo Cricket.

We have a pretty amazing prize package up for grabs...

The very talented Theresa Momber, designer for Gina K Designs

is giving one lucky winner these fab sets worth $70!

So come play...COME PLAY!!!

Project Recipe: 

Patterned Paper: Blossom Soup by Jillibean Soup
& Clementine by Cosmo Cricket

Embellishments: Baby Safari Stickers by EAD Designs

Tools: Lacey Circles & Standard Circle by Spellbinders, Big Shot

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Today is one of those days that I get to post whatever I want!

LOL

I love working for all my teams and who wouldn't?  To get to 'play'

with so many fabulous images and embellishments and of course,

you know me.  My passion is working with developing teams and

the social media that goes with building businesses.

So today, I do that behind the scenes on my laptop.

Last night I spent a couple hours playing with some new

'stuff' I picked up on a trip to Archivers during the day.

Paul and I had a daytrip out and it was a beautiful day.

How ridiculously cute is this line from Imaginisce?! 

It's called Sole Sisters and it's perfect for those girly-friend cards that we all

need to make once in awhile.  The pattern that I created the arched border from

is actually the backside of the shoe pattern in houndstooth.

I added tiny pearls to each of the shoes and to the marquis.

Here is another CAS card using the same theme of 'Girls Night Out'....

There's that houndstooth which in fashion, is uber-timeless!

I love the colors in this collection and the embellishments are AdOrAbLe!!

Tiny  pearls always bring a little somethin'-somethin' to a card.

I hope you enjoyed your visit today.

A BIG thanks to Imaginisce for featuring this card in the weekly

 

I've been working on a lot of cards in between my DT work, so I have

bunches of things to share, so I hope you'll stop by again soon.

Have a GREAT day!!

Girls Night Out Project Recipe Includes: 

Patterned Paper & Die Cuts: Sole Sisters by Imaginisce

Embellishments: pearls by Recollections

Tools: Lacey Circles & Standard Circle by Spellbinders, Big Shot
Lattice Arch border punch by EK Success

Happy Bird-Day with The Craft's Meow

For the EAD Blog Hop

CLICK HERE

  

The day is finally here!!

It's the New Release Blog Hop with

the designers from

If you've arrived here from the very talented

Jessica Fick's blog

then you are in the perfect spot.

If not, I would love for you to start over at

The Craft's Meow blog

because you will have a terrific opportunity to

win all 4 brand new releases!

They all go on sale TOday!!!

Today I combined 'Tweet of You' and 'I've Got Your Number'

to make one sweet birthday card.

Whenever I have an intricate pattern with a stamp, I immediately

think 'paper-piecing'.

I did the same with the little bird on the cage.

The numbers in this set are so fantastic with a distressed-feel.

They make great foreground AND background images.

 Here are the 4 brand new sets you have a chance to win...

I've Got Your Number

 Tweet of You

 Owl See You in the Spring

 Sew Lovely

To win, just make sure you stop by each of the blogs

on the hop and leave a comment when you do.

Visit and comment by 9pm PST, Tues Feb 21st

and you could be the winner of these fab stamps.

It's time to send you on your way to my dear friend

Lindsey Amrhein's blog

I'll see you again soon...have a GREAT day!

Project Recipe: 

Patterned Paper: Citronella & Berry Sweet by K&Company

Stamps: Tweet of You & I've Got Your Number by The Craft's Meow

Embellishments: gems by Me and My Big Ideas

Ink: Tuxedo Black from Memento & Slate both from A Muse Studio